Alexander Langsdorf, Jr. Papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: WUA-04-wua00048

Staff Only

This collection consists of two boxes that chronicle Langsdorf’s research in experimental nuclear physics, the birth of the atomic age, and the legacy of McCarthyism. The material is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Dates

Creation: 1934-1983

Creator

Langsdorf, Jr. , Alexander, 1912-1996 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open

Conditions Governing Use

Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.

Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.

If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)

Extent

3 linear feet

5 boxes

Additional Description

Biographical or Historical Information

Alexander Langsdorf, Jr. was born in St. Louis. His father, Alexander Langsdorf, Sr., was dean of the Schools of Engineering and Architecture at Washington University for forty years. His mother, Elsie Langsdorf, was the first St. Louis area woman elected to the Missouri Legislature.

Langsdorf earned an undergraduate degree from Washington University in 1932. He earned a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1937. In 1942, he married the artist Marty Schweig.

During World War II, Langsdorf and fellow scientist Robert Thornton built a cyclotron at Washington University’s Mallinckrodt Institute for medical use in the rapidly developing field of nuclear physics. Langsdorf joined scientist Enrico Fermi in Chicago for research in neutron physics. He remained in Chicago when the Argonne National Laboratory was formed and was on staff until his retirement in 1977. Langsdorf died May 24, 1996.